1957 Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-001

Description

Carrying the primary obverse doubled die designation for the 1957 Washington quarter proof, WDDO-001 shows a spread towards the center on IN GOD WE TRUST, the date, the bottom of the ribbon at Washington's neck, and LIBERTY. The Wexler Team documented a specific obverse die marker: a short vertical die gouge to the right of the lower T in LIBERTY, with no significant reverse die markers. The centripetal spread direction — toward the center of the die — indicates the secondary hub impression contracted slightly relative to the primary, a movement vector associated with hub dimensional changes between impressions or with subtle press alignment variations. Philadelphia struck proof Washington quarters in 1957 as part of the annual proof set, with total proof set production of approximately 1.25 million sets, establishing a finite population for this proof-only variety. John Flanagan's Washington quarter design, in continuous production since 1932, provides a familiar design canvas where the motto, date, ribbon detail, and LIBERTY inscription are all positioned at different distances from the die center — making centripetal spread produce varying degrees of displacement across these elements, with peripheral inscriptions showing greater contraction than centrally located features. Cross-referenced as Wexler Variety ID: 1957 25¢ Pr WDDO-001, the "Pr" notation confirming this is a proof issue. As WDDO-001, this represents the first and presumably most notable obverse doubled die documented for the 1957 proof quarter, establishing the benchmark variety for the date. The vertical die gouge to the right of the lower T in LIBERTY provides a crucial die identification checkpoint, as its specific location and orientation are unique to this working die and cannot be produced by circulation damage. Collectors should locate this gouge first, then evaluate the motto, date, and LIBERTY under 15-20x magnification for the inward-directed displacement.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Timothy Wissert Cross References: None known
• None known; Wexler Variety ID: 1957 25¢ Pr WDDO-001
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References